white haired and bearded an old man rests
a rocking chair he's owned for years
holds his fragile body, creaking as it moves,
a wooden porch made from reused lumber
is the foundation of this adventure,
for years he has been rocking there
neglected by his neighbors when passing
waves in their direction anyway,
he is a fool they say - the only one in town
one that deserves no attention they say
one that should not be around...
behind his back they make fun of him,
tossing stones and rocks to torment,
they rejoiced the day he died
praising the ambulance that took him away
laughed and mocked when no one attended
the funeral the city had to provide...
a young reported was ordered to write the story
of the old rocking man that had no friends,
upset she was given the assignment
researched his life disrespectfully,
her story pulled no punches
determined to write the truth once and for all
was amazed to discover the old man
had been someone to remember
since he held the medal of honor received
for heroism in Vietnam - saving lives of children
who had belittled the Americans who
had arrived uninvited to set them all free,
his family had left him because of all the lies
mainstream media printed about him,
his neighbors rejected him not knowing who he was
so he sat there in his rocking chair everyday
in an act of final defiance - letting everyone know
he was still proud to be an American
despite what everyone else thought of him.
August 19, 2025
